This invention relates generally to bale wagons, and specifically to apparatus for use on a bale wagon to insure that the rolling rack which holds the stack of bales on the load bed is automatically moved to the fully rearward position during the stack unloading process.
It is accepted present day practice to form bales of crop materials such as hay or the like into stacks through the employment of an automatic bale wagon. One type of bale wagon which has achieved wide-spread commercial acceptance is the automatic bale wagon which employs the three table concept, as originally illustrated and described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,848,172 which issued to Gordon E. Grey. Many refinements have been made to the Grey bale wagon, such as those shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,945,507. However, the basic concept has remained substantially the same.
This type of bale wagon includes a first table which successively receives bales from a bale loader or pick-up on the wagon frame and accumulates a predetermined number of bales, for example, two being arranged end-to-end in a row. The Grey bale wagon also includes a second table which successively receives the accumulated predetermined number of bales from the first table and accumulates them in a plurality of rows, such as four, five or six rows, the plurality of rows commonly being known as a tier of bales. The third table or load bed then successively receives the tiers from the second table and accumulates a plurality of the tiers, for example seven, to form a stack. Once the stack has been accumulated on the load bed or third table, it may be unloaded by pivoting the load bed 90 degrees and depositing the stack on the ground with the first tier of bales which was previously accumulated on the second table now being the lowermost tier of the stack in contact with the ground surface.
Another type of bale wagon, which is generally shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,212,578, employs a stationary bale-receiving area which roughly corresponds to the pivotable first table area of the Grey-type wagon discussed above. The bale-receiving area and bale-accumulating table are substantially at the same level, and the bales are transferred therebetween by a pusher mechanism in front of the bale-receiving area which engages the bales and displaces them rearwardly onto the forward portion of the bale-accumulating table. The second and third tables then function substantially as described in the Grey patent, and generally known in the art.
Any bale wagon which employs a pivoting bale-accumulating table to deposit a tier of bales on a load bed encounters significant tier stability problems when operating, especially under hilly conditions. To support the stack on the load bed or third table, a rolling rack has been provided which moves rearwardly as each additional tier of the stack is deposited on the load bed until it is fully formed. This rolling rack then supports the stack of bales as the third table is pivoted through 90 degrees about a transverse axis to deposit the bales on the ground. The rolling rack thus is called upon to support the entire weight of the stack, frequently as much as four tons, until the third table has completed its pivoting maneuver and deposited the bales against the ground. If the rolling rack is not at the fully rearward position at the back edge of the third table, this considerable mass which the rolling rack must support can damage the rolling rack by causing it to twist or fail, especially in units utilizing hydraulics to move the rolling rack along the length of the third table. Recognizing this problem, designers have incorporated supports at the back edge of the third table to reinforce the rolling rack during the unloading operation. However, this still requires that the rolling rack be moved to its fully rearward position before the unloading process is begun. Since the rolling rack is moved rearwardly by the pressure of the tier being transferred from the second table to the third table, it is entirely possible when a stack is fully forced that a gap of five or six inches exists between the rolling rack and the back edge of the third table. This space is sufficient when the rolling rack is subjected to the mass of a stack of bales during the unloading, to permit the rack to fail or become twisted. Machines heretofore utilizing hydraulics to move the rolling rack require the operator to manually perform a function which moves the rolling rack to the fully rearward position. Frequently, the operator will neglect to perform this manual operation, resulting in the aforementioned damage to the rolling rack during unloading of the stack of bales.
The foregoing problems are solved in the design of the rolling rack control means comprising the present invention by providing in an automatic bale wagon a control means which is mounted to the frame and cooperable with the third table and the actuator of the rolling rack which is movable between a first position and a second position so that when the third table is in the first loading position the control means is in the first position and when the third table is in the second unloading position the control means is in the second position which causes the actuator to automatically move the rolling rack fully to the rear end of the third table before the stack of bales is unloaded.